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The Dark Templar (mission)
|fgcolor= |name=The Dark Templar |prev=The Amerigo |conc= |next=The Culling |image=TheDarkTemplar SC1 Map1.jpg |imgsize=250px |conflict=Great War |date=Early April, 2500 |place=Char |result= *Protoss successfully distract Kerrigan *Zasz killed and Garm Brood rampages |side1= Zerg Swarm |side2= Protoss Expeditionary Force Dark Templar |commanders1= Overmind The Cerebrate Sarah Kerrigan Zasz |commanders2= Executor Tassadar Dark Prelate Zeratul |forces1= |forces2= |client= |reqmissnum= |altmission= |goal= *Exterminate the protoss intruders *Kerrigan must survive |heroes=Infested Kerrigan |newchar=Tassadar |newunit=Guardian |newtech=Hive, Greater spire }} The Dark Templar is the sixth zerg mission of Episode II of StarCraft. History Background Following her attack on the Amerigo, Kerrigan's psionic powers substantially increased.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Amerigo (in English). 1998. With her powers so enhanced, she sensed the presence of the protoss on Char, and contacted their leader, Executor Tassadar. Tassadar remembered Kerrigan from her time with the Sons of Korhal, and considered it unfortunate to see her twisted into a zerg agent. Kerrigan boasted she was stronger than Tassadar now, and when he taunted her over this claim, she declared she would lead the Cerebrate's forces against his fleet.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Dark Templar (in English). 1998. Tassadar's Trap The cerebrate Zasz sensed something peculiar about Tassadar, and told Kerrigan she should reconsider her attack. Kerrigan rebuked Zasz and warned him not to question her again.Sarah Kerrigan: "For the last time Zasz, you question my motives and authority at your own peril." Zasz: "You dare threaten a Cerebrate? You will be the doom of us all!" StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Dark Templar (in English). 1998. Kerrigan led the zerg against Tassadar's forces and destroyed the protoss base, but Tassadar himself was not there. The templar appeared on a distant plateau and challenged Kerrigan to face him in single combat. Kerrigan arrived at the challenge and easily defeated him, but it was a hallucination. Kerrigan mocked Tassadar's apparent cowardice, but he told her he had no need to face her, for she was her own worst enemy. Ultimately, Tassadar's claim proved correct. His attack was a diversion to distract Kerrigan and the Cerebrate while Tassadar's ally, Dark Prelate Zeratul, assassinated Zasz. The attack prevented Zasz from being reincarnated, and even stunned the Overmind for a time, leaving the cerebrates without a leader and causing Zasz's Garm Brood to turn feral. This act would have lasting repercussions that drastically shifted the course of the war.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Culling (in English). 1998. Walkthrough The player begins with a small force of zerg and a fairly well-established base. Kerrigan now has the psionic storm ability, which does area-of-effect damage over a large area and is powerful against the protoss. The protoss attack with zealots, dragoons, scouts, and a very dangerous new unit, the reaver. Reavers deal heavy damage with their scarab shots and also do splash damage, letting them quickly destroy large amounts of zerg. When the protoss attack, any reavers accompanying the attack will typically lag behind the others due to their low speed, and the player should use their air units and Kerrigan with her cloaking abilities to kill the reavers before they get close enough to fire on the ground-based zerg. An expansion spot exists to the east on a mountain, and a second expansion to the south is guarded by a small protoss force. Both spots are inaccessible from the ground, so the player will need the overlord's ventral sacs upgrade to ferry drones to these places. The player's initial base has their hatchery in a poor position in relation to the mineral field, and if they wish, they can destroy their own spawning pool to create a spot for a second hatchery closer to the minerals. It costs 200 minerals for a second spawning pool, but this will speed up mineral collection considerably. The player should also build a hatchery closer to the base's vespene geyser for optimal collection. The player can upgrade their hatchery to a hive in this mission, allowing them to mutate their spire into a greater spire. The greater spire allows the player's mutalisks into guardians, powerful air-to-ground long-range bombardment units. The guardians are very slow, have no air attack, and count as large units, meaning they take full damage from dragoons and scouts. Thus compared to mutalisks they are much more vulnerable, but also more powerful offensively. The player should rely on air units for this mission, as the reavers will crush ground forces. An army zerglings and hydralisks is viable, but it will need to be a very large army and the player will suffer heavy casualties. A force of two dozen mutalisks and approximately half as many guardians will be enough to destroy the protoss base, located far to the south. If the player uses ground units in lieu of mutalisks, they should still have a small air force and use it to destroy reavers, leaving their zerglings and hydralisks free to rampage. The player should also destroy small auxiliary outposts in the far north-east and south-east corners of the map. When all protoss buildings and units in the protoss main base are destroyed, Tassadar will challenge Kerrigan to come to the center of the map to fight him. The player will need an overlord for this. Tassadar will appear once Kerrigan is the only unit in the area, and when he is killed the mission is won. References Category:StarCraft Episode II missions Category:StarCraft Zerg missions